One year ago, Dr. Takeshi Kasai was elected the World Health Organization Regional Director of the West Pacific—a region composed of 37 countries and areas, from China to American Samoa, from Australia to the Philippines, where he is based. At its heart are 1.9 billion people —a quarter of humanity— with vastly different health needs and a great number of dynamic micro-communities. Our host James Chau speaks with Dr. Kasai on how COVID-19 continues to impact this region, the template it offers to the unfolding global pandemic elsewhere, and why he is adamant that the disease is called "COVID-19" — and nothing else.
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Mar 22 , 2020 | COVID-19Thousands of young Americans have gone through with their spring break plans, many going to the beach or out to parties—believing that because they are young, they are immune to COVID-19. As the outbreaks in China and Italy have taught us, young people are susceptible too, with new reports showing that many of them are being hospitalized — and even those that appear healthy and well are still able to spread the virus to others. UC Berkeley professor of epidemiology, Dr. Art Reingold, speaks with our host and WHO Goodwill Ambassador, James Chau.
Mar 21 , 2020 | COVID-19International travel has never been this cheap, neither has it been this risky. Airlines have begun to cut their international flights and domestic travel has been met with increased government restrictions. Since the United States’ first infected case, there has been a media frenzy around air travel, and rightly so. Our host James Chau speaks with Professor Gabriel Leung, member of the joint WHO-China Joint Mission, about how to travel safely during the outbreak.
Mar 20 , 2020 | COVID-19When Ebola hit Africa, its healthcare systems were neither ready nor equipped to meet the crisis. Like COVID-19, the loss of life was tragic, and the outbreak influenced leaders in Africa – and particularly then President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia – to more heavily invest in health training and infrastructure, so that it would never happen again. Our host and WHO Goodwill Ambassador, James Chau, speaks with Dr. Vanessa Kerry, CEO of Seed Global Health, about the lessons learned from Ebola. Follow us for the latest stories in our special coverage on the novel outbreak.